ORAN: a basis for an Arabic OCR system

We present a system called ORAN (offline recognition of Arabic characters and numerals). This system is based on a method called modified MCR (minimum covering run) expression for document images. Using the correspondence between binary images and bipartite graphs, the MCR expression can be found by constructing a minimum covering or maximum matching in the corresponding graph. We use the structural information obtained from this expression to describe the character strokes according to some extracted features. These are obtained after a zoning scheme, where the baseline is detected and the line of text divided into four zones. Reference prototypes for the system are built according to a structural description of characters in some model documents. By this method, we overcome the problem of segmentation that is inherent to Arabic characters, even when they are machine printed or typed. Simple matching of the candidate characters to reference prototypes is performed. A recognition rate of more than 97% is achieved

Design of a Controlled Language for Critical Infrastructures Protection

We describe a project for the construction of controlled language for critical infrastructures protection (CIP). This project originates from the need to coordinate and categorize the communications on CIP at the European level. These communications can be physically represented by official documents, reports on incidents, informal communications and plain e-mail. We explore the application of traditional library science tools for the construction of controlled languages in order to achieve our goal. Our starting point is an analogous work done during the sixties in the field of nuclear science known as the Euratom Thesaurus.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Gundissalinus and Avicenna: Some Remarks on an Intricate Philosophical Connection

This article analyses the peculiarities of Dominicus Gundissalinus’s reading and use of Avicenna’s writings in his original works. Gundissalinus (1120ca – post 1190) is the Latin translator of Avicenna’s De anima and Liber de philosophia prima, but also an original philosopher whose writings are precious witnesses of the very first reception of Avicennian philosophy in the Latin West. The article points out the structural bond with the Persian philosopher upon which Gundissalinus grounds his own speculation. This contribution stresses, in particular, the important role played by Avicenna’s psychology, epistemology, and metaphysics in order to provide Gundissalinus with a different set of answers to at least two main questions. On the one hand, the problem of creatural existence and cosmological causation, concerning which Gundissalinus tends to doctrinally merge Avicenna with Ibn Gabirol. On the other hand, Avicenna’s influence is crucial for Gundissalinus’s attempt at elaborating a new system of knowledge, which was supposed to be able to include the new sciences made available by the translation movement, but that also needed to be internally organised through firm epistemological principles. Beside his crucial contribution as translator, Gundissalinus’s first philosophical encounter with the Avicenna paved the road for the subsequent reception of the Persian philosopher’s works, opening a hermeneutical perspective which would be pivotal for the thirteenth-century discussions on soul, knowledge, and being

Antimicrobial peptides in innate immunity : interactions with antibiotics and effects of post-translational modifications

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important innate immunity factors contributing to the clearance of invading pathogens and immunomodulating immune responses. In this thesis, the focus is on AMPs of the cathelicidin family, i.e. the human LL-37 and the canine K9CATH. These peptides are positively charged at neutral pH and amphipathic in nature, making them prone to interact with negatively charged bacterial membranes. In this thesis, I have studied i) how the interaction between AMPs and bacteria can be modified by alterations of the LPSstructure of the bacteria and ii) how the host can regulate the function of AMPs, via a posttranslational modification designated citrullination. In part 1 of the thesis, I studied the potential cross-resistance between colistin and LL-37 in K. pneumoniae. Colistin is a cationic polypeptide antibiotic that shares a similar membranebinding mechanism with LL-37; i.e. they both target the negatively charged components of the bacterial membrane. Resistance to colistin has appeared in bacteria due to modifications in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure by reduction of the negative surface charge. The hypothesis of cross-resistance between colistin and LL-37 still remains debatable. In Paper I, we studied two clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn), with similar genetic background but with different susceptibility to colistin. The colistin-resistant isolate (Col-R) had an insertion element in the mgrB gene, which caused the resistant phenotype. Interestingly, the Col-R isolate was more resistant to LL-37 in contrast to the colistin-susceptible isolate (Col-S) but only at concentrations above 50 μg/ml. However, there was no significant survival differences between Col-R and Col-S isolates in blood, serum nor in a zebrafish infection model. The findings of this study suggest that cross-resistance most likely plays a minor role during physiological conditions in vivo, where lower levels of LL-37 are present. In part 2 of the thesis, I studied how the host, via citrullination, could affect the function of AMPs in various contexts. Peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADs) catalyze the conversion of the positively charged arginine residues into neutral citrulline residues in a process called citrullination or deimination. Notably, citrullination reduces the net charge of proteins and peptides and could thus, affect the biological functions of AMPs. Citrullinated LL-37 has not been detected in human samples and the knowledge on the functional and biophysical consequences of citrullination is limited. Paper II, describes a series of experiments characterizing the presence of citrullinated LL-37 in human bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from the airways of healthy donors after exposure of LPS. We identified both native LL- 37 and different variants of citrullinated LL-37 in the BAL samples. Citrullinated LL-37 had no antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, interacted differently with LPS and had reduced affinity to anionic phospholipids. Finally, a net positive charge was shown to be essential for the antimicrobial activity of LL-37. Finally, I expanded the studies on citrullination to another AMP, the K9CATH peptide, which is the only cathelicidin found in dogs. It has a broad antimicrobial activity against both grampositive and gram-negative bacteria, it binds to LPS and has anti-inflammatory functions. Similarly, to LL-37, K9CATH has a positive net charge at neutral pH due to lysine and arginine residues. PAD enzymes are found in all organisms studied, including dogs. However, it is unknown whether K9CATH is a substrate to PAD enzymes. In Paper III we report the that recombinant PAD2 and PAD4 citrullinated K9CATH at different degrees. Citrullination abrogated the antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria and reduced the peptide’s anti-inflammatory activity on LPS-induced macrophage stimulation. In conclusion, my studies provide information on the interactions of cathelicidin peptides with bacterial membranes and the different host/microbe mechanisms, regulating the activity of the peptides. This information provides a platform for future research on the role of citrullination in health and disease

A comprehensive analysis of pedestrian environments: the case of Cairo city centre

The discourse of urban design suggests that the pedestrian environment is an important factor for the vitality of urban areas specifically in city centres. However, much literature argues that the pedestrian environment is one of the less studied topics, reflecting its complexity and the dominance of vehicular movement on city planning. The pedestrian environment in Cairo City Centre shows much evidence of this lack of understanding.Guided by observations of the pedestrian environment in Cairo City Centre the research develops a `comprehensive' model, derived from Giddens' Structuration theory (1984), to investigate spatial, perceptual, cognitive, theoretical and managerial aspects. Cairo City Centre becomes a case study for this model. Four research methods (questionnaire, cognitive mapping, space syntax, document analysis) cover the four main components of the proposed model. After reviewing the relevant literature on the pedestrian environment and Cairo City Centre, literature on the selected research methods is critically reviewed.The empirical work in this research is composed of four chapters, each investigating a component of the environment defined in the proposed model. The Social -grouping is investigated using a questionnaire distributed to a sample of the users. The built environment is examined by applying space syntax analysis (Hillier and Hanson, 1984; Hillier, 1996). The relationship between the Social -grouping and the built environments is examined by the cognitive mapping technique as devised by Lynch (1960). Finally the rules governing the reproduction of the (pedestrian) environment in are examined using a combination of document analysis and a professionals' questionnaire.The findings from together with the literature review are combined to reflect on the proposed model for the environmental system and structure. They reflect on the research at three levels: on the methodology, on the methods used and on the case study of Cairo City Centre. The methodology demonstrates how comprehensiveness in urban analysis reveals aspects that remain hidden if only one research approach is adopted. The methods used to examine the case study are shown to complement and not contradict each other. The research also highlights the underlying causes of problems encountered in the case study. The author argues that tackling these will alleviate many of the more apparent problems

‘Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory’: The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700

Due to its elaborate woodcuts and artificial language, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1499, hereafter ‘HP’) has traditionally been presented as a fringe anomaly within the histories of the book and of Italian philology. Other studies have examined the influence of the HP in art and literature, but there has been little study of the role of readers in mediating that influence. This framing of the HP as unreadable visual marvel has impeded consideration of Aldus’ creation as a used text within the wider fabric of humanism. Liane Lefaivre’s conceptualisation of the HP as a creative dream-space for idea generation was a significant step towards foregrounding the text’s readers. This thesis set to testing this hypothesis against the experiences of actual readers as recorded in their marginalia. A world census of annotated copies of the HP located a number of examples of prolific annotation, showing readers making use of the HP for a variety of purposes. Benedetto and Paolo Giovio applied a Plinian model of extractive reading to two copies at Como and Modena, reading the HP in a manner analogous to the Natural History. Ben Jonson read his copy of the 1545 HP as a source for visual elements of stage design. An anonymous second hand in Jonson’s copy read the text as an alchemical allegory, as did the hands in a copy at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. Pope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi) combed the text for examples of verbal wit, or acutezze, while comparing Poliphilo’s journeys through an architectural dream with his own passages through Rome. Informed by analogy with modern educational media, I have reframed the HP as a ‘humanistic activity book’, in which readers cultivated their faculty of ingegno through ludic engagement with the text

Multilingual sentiment analysis in social media.

252 p.This thesis addresses the task of analysing sentiment in messages coming from social media. The ultimate goal was to develop a Sentiment Analysis system for Basque. However, because of the socio-linguistic reality of the Basque language a tool providing only analysis for Basque would not be enough for a real world application. Thus, we set out to develop a multilingual system, including Basque, English, French and Spanish.The thesis addresses the following challenges to build such a system:- Analysing methods for creating Sentiment lexicons, suitable for less resourced languages.- Analysis of social media (specifically Twitter): Tweets pose several challenges in order to understand and extract opinions from such messages. Language identification and microtext normalization are addressed.- Research the state of the art in polarity classification, and develop a supervised classifier that is tested against well known social media benchmarks.- Develop a social media monitor capable of analysing sentiment with respect to specific events, products or organizations